About Steve
Steve Neurauter (pronounced new-router) is a husband to Melissa, father of three, a son, a brother, a die-hard Cubs fan, and a small business owner who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, went to college, and then came back to the Chicago suburbs after college to be close to family.
Steve and his family are die-hard Chicago Cubs fans.
As a young family moving back to the west Chicago suburbs, the first thing the Neurauters looked for were good schools. District 89 immediately popped onto their radar, and so it was done: Steve and Melissa bought a house in Glen Ellyn after only touring it virtually from the UK.
Steve and Melissa got right to work when they moved to the area, volunteering at school activities and getting involved in local civics. Their primary motivator? To build friendships, support the community, and build bonds with folks who would be in their kids’ lives.
Steve tries to feed his daughter part of a quesabirria. Questionable!
When Steve stepped up and joined the Citizen Advisory Committee in District 89, he discovered that the state doesn’t allow school districts to access more funding even if their student head count is increasing — and thus, all of its constituents are left to fend for themselves. Steve thought, “This can’t be right!” and joined the D89 Finance Committee to try to find ways to make the budget work. He tried to find innovative efficiencies to avoid raising property taxes. He scoured the budget, line by line. He analyzed and spreadsheeted for weeks.
Steve celebrates with the Yes4Our89 referendum campaign leadership team in 2018.
But — after thorough analysis, he found that D89’s board and district leadership was incredibly fiscally responsible. They had already addressed each area Steve identified — and there truly was a need for more funding to maintain and protect our schools’ quality and educational offerings (including full-day Kindergarten, access to challenge programs, reasonable class sizes, extracurriculars, clubs, sports, and more.)
So, Steve joined the Community Engagement Committee, where he learned the importance of discussing the District’s financial situation with the community and gathering critical feedback. With the community’s support of putting a referendum on the November 2018 ballot, Steve co-led the successful Yes4Our89 Campaign to keep our good schools and protect our property values.
Volunteer Erin Micklo canvasses for Steve in 2021.
In 2021, Steve ran for CCSD89 School Board to help ensure the District continued providing agile and responsive solutions to the COVID crisis, met new challenges to learning, kept up with the latest educational resources to enable our excellent teachers, all while keeping its decades-long fiscal efficiency.
With strong community support, Steve won a spot on the School Board and for the past 4 years Steve has been protecting the District’s strengths and its focus on a safe and well-rounded education for each and every student.
What started as an idea to meet a few people turned into meeting thousands of neighbors and new friends throughout the community that District 89 serves, learning about the many diverse perspectives within our small footprint.
Click below to learn more about Steve’s commitments as a member of the District 89 School Board.